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How important is recruiting and spring ball during the high school season?

by Transition Hoops Report

Will I be ready for spring ball? Am I doing the right things for my college basketball recruiting? Am I prepared for the high school season?

How important is recruiting and preparing for spring ball during the high school season?

We love to hear from our readers and these were the most popular questions that we’ve been hearing. Here is some context and an overview of things you should be considering this high school season.

This is second part of a two part series addressing concerns we’ve heard from parents and players. To read part 1 “Making Varsity, Playing Time and Injuries” click here.

College Recruiting and Spring Ball

Players, you must take care of your high school season. This is your first concern.

To be clear, we are going to cover some topics here that may seem like a high school distraction. But right now, your high school season is the most important thing you are doing right now.

If you take care of having the best high school season possible, recruiting and spring ball will take care of themselves.

If you focus on the future, your current opportunity is going to suffer.

Without high school basketball there is no spring basketball or college basketball. The high school season is the foundation.

Playing at the College Level

To begin, if you are a sophomore or younger, this is not the point in your career to worry about playing in college. College as a goal is great! But Division I and II colleges cannot contact players until June following their sophomore year. So put every ounce of your energy in to getting better and helping your high school team win.

So how does your high school season affect your college recruiting?

Your high school season is a piece of the recruiting puzzle. College coaches won’t rely on your high school performance but they won’t ignore it either. The things they will consider the following:

The level you are playing at. The level considers both Varsity vs. JV and the size of your school

Often, it is the high school season that will build momentum heading in to the spring.

If you are not playing varsity, this season is still a chance to work on your game, be a great teammate and learn how to win. The biggest thing is that you get better every day.

College coaches are looking for the same things that your high school coach wants from you. They want a solid skill set, willingness to compete on every play, basketball IQ and a will to win.

Tips

Find a way to get better every day and make your high school team better.

The high school season is another chance to build up your video library. You will have 20+ opportunities to get footage for a highlight video and to capture your best game.

Use social media to dish out praise to teammates, show respect to opponents and show off your best assets. Be careful with social media. Coaches do check up on all social media accounts for potential recruits. Remember: you are your own brand. You control it and determine what it is. Use that to your advantage.

Recruiting violations are not anything you need to worry about. This responsibility falls on the college coaches. If you receive a duffel bag full of cash then you should have some concerns. Otherwise this is not something that needs to occupy your time.

Spring Ball

We understand that even though it is the high school season, thinking about the spring is a natural thing to do. Like the high school season, spring ball is an important piece of recruiting. Your opportunities in the spring are correlated to how you do during the high school season. This is yet another reason why giving everything you have to the high school season is so important.

If you are interested in playing on an elite spring team, here is a simple process to follow

Identify the team that you want to play for. Make sure that your residency complies with the adjoining state rule.

Find the coach’s email address. Put together a professional email that will get their attention and

let them know where they can see you play this season

let them know how they can get a hold of you

ask them what their process is for selecting their teams

Follow up with the coach about 3/4 of the way through the high school season and send them a link to your team’s schedule. Remember the videos you have been working on? This is a great opportunity to share them and see what they think.

Coaches are always looking for great players to add to their program. A conversation with them is an email or phone call away. The key is to let them know you are available so when it comes time to put a roster together, you are in the mix for a spot.

Make the most of your winter

How important is recruiting and spring ball during the high school season?

We can’t emphasize enough how important your high school season is to setting up your future. More than the spring and summer, high school basketball replicates a college season. You have practice every day. There will be a full season of games with playoffs and meaningful championships. Your games will have students, fans, boosters and media watching you. There is no other environment like it.

High school ball is also an opportunity to build your college recruiting and prepare for the spring. By approaching the high school season with the right mindset, you will maximize your efforts over the next few months.

About this article

This article originally appeared on the Select Basketball website in December of 2016. It was reposted with some modifications with permission from Select Basketball. Click here to see the original post.